“Dome Alone”

I visited Tokyo Dome City at the end of 2014. It was wrapped in light as part of its annual winter illuminations. The theme for the illuminations was ‘Light of Promenade’, and there were a lot of lights. 2.2 million to be exact. Attractions included the ‘Galaxy Dome’, the elaborately titled, ‘Glorious Chandelier’, and a ‘Milky Way’ of light, featuring a 140 metre long corridor lit by motion sensors. The corridor of lights changed colour as people walked beneath them. The corridor was directly under the path of a well lit roller coaster; as the ride roared above, the lights flickered and shook. Despite the subtle Christmas theme featuring only nine massive Christmas trees, the rest of the illuminations looked quite nice. An instrumental version of ‘A Whole New World’ from Disney’s Aladdin bellowed from every speaker in the vicinity, a giant statue of Ultraman stood guard beside a glass pyramid of multicoloured lights, and people dressed in Santa Claus outfits dashed about merrily. Alone, I walked the full length of the illuminations, passing couple after couple holding hands and smiling. Definitely a place to come for a romantic evening for three months over Christmas when the illuminations are up. The rest of the dome was full of the usual shops, restaurants, attractions, sports fans, and the theme park which can be enjoyed all year round.